My husband and I purchased a brand new 2006 Explore Ltd, V8 engine this past September. Early on we thought that the engine was loud, but we never owned an SUV and thought nothing of it. It has about 11K miles on it and it has had routine oil changes, but nothing was said. Others started to comment on it and we finally decided to take it in. The service rep mentioned that Ford didn't have any posts concerning any issues, but we fear that we are going to need a new engine. What exactly could make an engine sound like a diesel and are we stuck in a rock and a hard place for the rest of the life of the vehicle? I saw a post from someone that mentioned her son needed a new engine at 30K and that worries me more.
Any thoughts or what my expectations should be?

 

I have a 2006 explorer xlt V8 with 19,000 mi. I have the same problem. It just started clattering. Did you get yours fixed? What was the problem? Any other problems? This is the only problem I've had.